Showing posts with label Irish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irish. Show all posts
Monday, 7 February 2011
Another Grumble on Big Fat Gypsy Weddings
I understand Channel 4’s aim to achieve high ratings. To suck in an audience that might ultimately consider more serious aspects of Gypsy and Traveller life and culture, you need to lighten up first. I get that. But at what cost? By sensationalising, then deliberately selecting and focusing on the more controversial things that ‘make good television’, the producers of this series have compromised on truth a step too far. The interest has brought out truly poisonous comments – yes I have seen them on Twitter too. Referred to in a TV guide as ‘gently mocking’, I find the voice-over so apparently benign as to border on sinister. Mocking and encouraging others to mock is more damaging than people perhaps realise and affects the lives of countless people trying to find accommodation, bring up their children and earn an honest living. Romany Gypsies are outraged and aggrieved that there is no distinction made between them and Irish Travellers. (I hope they do not mind me speaking for them.) Now they have seen the way TV has chosen to display the Irish Travellers, I doubt they will ever open up to reveal some of the truths about their own culture. And who can blame them? Romany Gypsies are, on the whole, proud to be called Gypsy. Irish Travellers are not generally referred to as Gypsies, which makes the title of the programme a nonsense – and harmful too. I did a post on this on 12 February 2010 – it is complicated and mistakes can easily be made. The Race Relations Act helped to bring about this confusion by lumping together the two groups into one ethnic group for purposes of legislation and rights pertaining to travelling people, or sedentary people with a heritage of travelling. Romany Gypsies, who account for a much higher percentage of this overall group than Irish Travellers, are so far removed from this picture we see on our screens, they are appalled and probably despair at the stupidity of non-Gypsies who watch it. I hope Romany Gypsies do not mind me speaking on their behalf; they are certainly speaking up for themselves too. You can see why Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month (June each year) keeps to its title, which it has to be said does not trip easily off the tongue. To reduce it to an umbrella term would be wrong. They are different and distinct groups of people – albeit with some similarities. From giving talks on the subject, I know all too well how difficult it is to get people to listen. People come armed with questions and opinions before even hearing another point of view – I am told the term for this is ‘cognitive dissonance’. Prejudice is another term for it. I do try to comment on this whole debacle in an even tone with facts and references to substantial reports, but underneath I am FURIOUS at the damage that this programme may have done. People are working hard to improve relationships between Gypsies and Travellers and non-gypsies, by fostering more understanding and knowledge. There is a huge wound that needs to be healed, not gouged out and left to fester. The more people are exposed to these negative portrayals, the less tolerance there will be for a people who by and large just want to care for their families and earn a living. Their overriding concern it to secure accommodation. The more others dislike and object, the more unauthorised encampments there will be and the more objections there will be, in an endless vicious circle. If the wider community could just stop a minute, regard Gypsies and Travellers as individual human beings, not object when a local council proposes a small site in their area, then the ‘mess and damage’ so often quoted against them might be consigned to history.
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
Could not let TV Channel 4’s Big Fat Gypsy Wedding go by without offering a few thoughts – could I? It wouldn’t be right!
Firstly, these were, going by their accents, Irish Travellers rather than Romany Gypsies. Please correct me, someone, if I am wrong. They rarely mix.
People scoff, ridicule, and look down upon the sheer brash lavishness, bright pink vulgarity, the width and weight of the dresses and so on. They will decry the 'sexual attacks’ in the apparent ‘grabbing’ rituals, the brainwashing of young girls into early marriage, a lifetime of childbearing and polishing, with no career options, that turns the clock back … I have read and heard many times over that Gypsies are known for saying what people want to hear, which they openly admit, and the girls seemed only too happy to gyrate and posture for what the cameras wanted to shoot. Displaying the ‘big knickers’; un-British ignorance of Audrey Hepburn (not that surprising considering the age group); and arguably the most ungainly walk a bride has ever managed in the history of weddings, caused no apparent embarrassment. Just pure enjoyment it seemed, in some unreal bubble of a world where modest virgins dress like tarts. Makes for good television. Yes, I know all that, but moving on.
Did you notice the underlying positives? How happy and healthy the people in this programme were? Shiny hair, bright eyes, beautiful skin, bodacious physiques? How spotless their clothes and everything about them? What a lovely sense of humour? The loyalty to family and kinship group? In some ways the (I have to say, adorable) children seemed socially mature and kind to each other. Girls living their dream, however absurd it may seem from the outside. No apparent hang-ups or grudges. No sex or alcohol before marriage, no drugs, and teenage girls never allowed to be with a boy alone before marriage. Young men who claim to take family and financial responsibilities very seriously. If you compare and contrast with some non-Gypsies they come out rather well. Well, how controversial.
In Gypsies Stop tHere, Lena is a young Romany Gypsy wife and mother of two little boys, who is cast out from her community. As you can see, in the context of this programme showing the powerful sense of belonging that is the linchpin of Gypsy and Traveller culture, this is the worst thing that can happen to a Gypsy. Also in No Gypsies Served, Dunstan, a half-Gypsy or didakoi, left his family at the age of 16 and you can see some of the consequences. It is unlikely to happen, but is a ‘what if’ scenario.
The programme did help to demonstrate why their culture persists; the difficulties of breaking away, or their lack of any wish to do so, stood out.
I am looking forward to the next episode and would love to hear your views – especially if you are a Gypsy or Traveller.
Firstly, these were, going by their accents, Irish Travellers rather than Romany Gypsies. Please correct me, someone, if I am wrong. They rarely mix.
People scoff, ridicule, and look down upon the sheer brash lavishness, bright pink vulgarity, the width and weight of the dresses and so on. They will decry the 'sexual attacks’ in the apparent ‘grabbing’ rituals, the brainwashing of young girls into early marriage, a lifetime of childbearing and polishing, with no career options, that turns the clock back … I have read and heard many times over that Gypsies are known for saying what people want to hear, which they openly admit, and the girls seemed only too happy to gyrate and posture for what the cameras wanted to shoot. Displaying the ‘big knickers’; un-British ignorance of Audrey Hepburn (not that surprising considering the age group); and arguably the most ungainly walk a bride has ever managed in the history of weddings, caused no apparent embarrassment. Just pure enjoyment it seemed, in some unreal bubble of a world where modest virgins dress like tarts. Makes for good television. Yes, I know all that, but moving on.
Did you notice the underlying positives? How happy and healthy the people in this programme were? Shiny hair, bright eyes, beautiful skin, bodacious physiques? How spotless their clothes and everything about them? What a lovely sense of humour? The loyalty to family and kinship group? In some ways the (I have to say, adorable) children seemed socially mature and kind to each other. Girls living their dream, however absurd it may seem from the outside. No apparent hang-ups or grudges. No sex or alcohol before marriage, no drugs, and teenage girls never allowed to be with a boy alone before marriage. Young men who claim to take family and financial responsibilities very seriously. If you compare and contrast with some non-Gypsies they come out rather well. Well, how controversial.
In Gypsies Stop tHere, Lena is a young Romany Gypsy wife and mother of two little boys, who is cast out from her community. As you can see, in the context of this programme showing the powerful sense of belonging that is the linchpin of Gypsy and Traveller culture, this is the worst thing that can happen to a Gypsy. Also in No Gypsies Served, Dunstan, a half-Gypsy or didakoi, left his family at the age of 16 and you can see some of the consequences. It is unlikely to happen, but is a ‘what if’ scenario.
The programme did help to demonstrate why their culture persists; the difficulties of breaking away, or their lack of any wish to do so, stood out.
I am looking forward to the next episode and would love to hear your views – especially if you are a Gypsy or Traveller.
Friday, 12 February 2010
‘Gypsy’ or ‘Traveller’?
A simple question often asked. But how complicated the answer!!
First of all there are many groups of, let’s say, ‘Travellers’. There are Circus and Fairground people, generally referred to as ‘Showpeople’ often of Romany origin. There are New or New Age Travellers – largely non-Gypsies from mainstream society, who opted out, particularly in the 1960s, 70s … took to the road full of dreams but with very little back up by way of traditions to help them live, obtain food, prepare meals, eat, sleep, wash themselves and their clothes, earn a living, get married, give birth, bring up children, care for their sick and elderly – on the road in a caravan, trailer or wagon. A daunting challenge when you come to think about it – not the easy option after all!
There are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’ and ‘Scottish’ Gypsies – probably with Romany roots but who have been here for so long they differentiate according to where they best belong. There are Romany Gypsies, and what used to be called ‘didakois’, not usually regarded a very friendly term, where a Romany has intermarried and had a child with a non-Gypsy.
Irish Travellers, not surprisingly, come from Ireland. Many Irish emigrated to England in the 1850s and there was another phase of movement after World War II. It is believed by some academics, however, that some Romanis once travelled to Ireland and became ‘Irish Travellers’. Did I say it was confusing? True Irish Travellers have different origins, going back maybe four or five hundred years. Some were known as Tinkers … You really need to read my second novel, No Gypsies Served … Romany Gypsies have their origins in India … this goes back over a thousand years and they made their way, through a mix of persecution and seeking a living, across Europe branching out into various countries, finally arriving in Great Britain around 500 years ago.
So they have been with us for a long time.
Irish Travellers and Showpeople do not like to be referred to as Gypsies – for them it is a derogatory term. Many Romanies are very happy to be called Gypsy, proud of their heritage, especially the younger generation where there is a resurgence of their culture. Some Gypsies of all ages, however, will hide their ethnic identity because of potential discrimination and bullying against them. Some of the older generation can remember a time in their youth when the term Gypsy was associated with insults, so are somewhat unsure.
There are also, of course, Roma in Europe and particular groups within this – the Sinti for example.
People ask, 'But what about Travellers who live in houses? How can they be Travellers?' A good question, but if a Gypsy or Traveller belongs to an ethnic group, then where they live is immaterial; and other aspects of their deep-rooted culture give them a special identity.
Romany Gypsies in turn have a term for non-Gypsies - gorgio, which has various spellings; and the Irish Travellers would call a non-Gypsy a buffer.
This is, in fact, a huge subject. Volumes and theses have been written on the origins, culture and identity of Gypsies and Travellers and it is extremely easy to cause offence, but I hope I am getting the hang of it. I guess if I've got it wrong I'll soon hear about it from someone!
First of all there are many groups of, let’s say, ‘Travellers’. There are Circus and Fairground people, generally referred to as ‘Showpeople’ often of Romany origin. There are New or New Age Travellers – largely non-Gypsies from mainstream society, who opted out, particularly in the 1960s, 70s … took to the road full of dreams but with very little back up by way of traditions to help them live, obtain food, prepare meals, eat, sleep, wash themselves and their clothes, earn a living, get married, give birth, bring up children, care for their sick and elderly – on the road in a caravan, trailer or wagon. A daunting challenge when you come to think about it – not the easy option after all!
There are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’ and ‘Scottish’ Gypsies – probably with Romany roots but who have been here for so long they differentiate according to where they best belong. There are Romany Gypsies, and what used to be called ‘didakois’, not usually regarded a very friendly term, where a Romany has intermarried and had a child with a non-Gypsy.
Irish Travellers, not surprisingly, come from Ireland. Many Irish emigrated to England in the 1850s and there was another phase of movement after World War II. It is believed by some academics, however, that some Romanis once travelled to Ireland and became ‘Irish Travellers’. Did I say it was confusing? True Irish Travellers have different origins, going back maybe four or five hundred years. Some were known as Tinkers … You really need to read my second novel, No Gypsies Served … Romany Gypsies have their origins in India … this goes back over a thousand years and they made their way, through a mix of persecution and seeking a living, across Europe branching out into various countries, finally arriving in Great Britain around 500 years ago.
So they have been with us for a long time.
Irish Travellers and Showpeople do not like to be referred to as Gypsies – for them it is a derogatory term. Many Romanies are very happy to be called Gypsy, proud of their heritage, especially the younger generation where there is a resurgence of their culture. Some Gypsies of all ages, however, will hide their ethnic identity because of potential discrimination and bullying against them. Some of the older generation can remember a time in their youth when the term Gypsy was associated with insults, so are somewhat unsure.
There are also, of course, Roma in Europe and particular groups within this – the Sinti for example.
People ask, 'But what about Travellers who live in houses? How can they be Travellers?' A good question, but if a Gypsy or Traveller belongs to an ethnic group, then where they live is immaterial; and other aspects of their deep-rooted culture give them a special identity.
Romany Gypsies in turn have a term for non-Gypsies - gorgio, which has various spellings; and the Irish Travellers would call a non-Gypsy a buffer.
This is, in fact, a huge subject. Volumes and theses have been written on the origins, culture and identity of Gypsies and Travellers and it is extremely easy to cause offence, but I hope I am getting the hang of it. I guess if I've got it wrong I'll soon hear about it from someone!
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